John kress



(No Model.)

J. KRESS. HORSESHOE PAD.

No. 599,908. Patented Mar. 1, 1898.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN KRESS, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

HORSESHOE-PAD.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 599,908, dated March 1, 1898.

Application filed October 22, 1897- Serial No. 656,091. (No model.)

To all whom it mag concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN KREsS, a citizen of the United States, residing in the city, county, and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Horseshoe- Pads, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to an improved pad to be used in connection with the shoe 0f the horse, so that a better foothold for the horse is obtained on asphalt and other slippery surfaces and thereby the slipping'of the horse and accidents avoided; and the invention consists of a horseshoe-pad which is composed of a rubber pad open below the frog of the'foot and provided with a thickened heel portion, said pad being attached to a suitable web which is interposed between the hoof and the shoe and being provided with a circumferential flange in front of the heel portion for overlapping the shoe, the rear'calks of which are cut off, so that the ends of the shoe can abut against the heel portion of the pad.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 represents a side elevation of a horses hoof with myimproved pad attached thereto. Fig. 2 is a perspective View of my improved pad shown from the under side. Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the same seen from the top. Fig. 4 is a bottom view of the pad with the shoe, and Fig. 5 is a vertical transverse section of the hoof and the pad and shoe attached thereto.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts.

Referring to the drawings, A represents a horseshoe-pad which is formed of suitable elastic material, preferably rubber, that is smooth or ribbed at the under side and which is made in somewhat less size than the size of the hoof and is provided with a thickened heel portion a at its rear part. The front ends of the heel portion a are preferably beveled, so that the calkless shoe B, which has beveled ends, abuts tightly against the beveled ends of the heel portion a. The center of the elas tic pad A is provided with an opening I) of a size corresponding to the frog of the hoof, so that the same has free expansion and is prevented from being heated too much by the elastic pad. Around the circumference of the bottom portion of the .pad in front of the heel portion a is arranged a circumferential flange d, which forms a space'or recess between it and the web 0 to receive the calkless shoe, so that the flange d overlaps the under side of the shoe B, as shown in Fig. 5. By this construction the entire tread ofthe foot is on elastic material, while, however, the front edge of the shoe is uncovered, so as to take hold of the ground when the foot is set thereon. The elastic pad A is stitched to the web 0, which is preferably made of leather or other suitable material and which covers the under side of the hoof. The web 0 is at the same time applied with the shoeto the hoof by the usual nails distributed through the nail-holes of the shoe, so that thereby the pad is firmly supported on the hoof, together with the shoe, and likewise readily removed from the same when a new pad or shoe is to be applied to the hoof or when a hoof has to be reshod or repadded.

The body of the pad and its heel portions are of greater thickness than the shoe. Hence the entire support in treading the ground is given by the elastic material, the shoe merely serving for imparting the required strength in stepping as it projects beyond the flange cl of the pad at the front part of the hoof. The

thickened heel portion serves to take up the extra pressure exerted on this part of the pad, so that thereby for the full tread of the hoof an' impact with the ground is obtained and slipping 011 asphalt or smooth streets is prevented.

- Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent- 7 p 1. A horseshoe-pad composed of a web portion, an elastic pad open at the center and provided with a wider heel portion, and a circumferential flange at the bottom of the body of the pad in front of said heel portion, whereby a recess is formed between the flange and said web portion for the insertion of a calkless horseshoe, substantially as set forth.

2. The combination with a calkless horse- In testimony that I claim the foregoing as shoe, of a pad composed of a web portion, and my invention I have signed my name in pres- 10 having a central opening, a Wider heel porence of two subscribing witnesses. tion abutting against the rear ends of the 5 shoe, and a circumferential flange in front of JOHN KRESS' the heel portion, of less Width than the shoe Witnesses: so as to partly overlap the same, substantially PAUL GOEPEL,

as set forth. GEO. W. J AEKEL. 

